Betty Cornell's Teen-Age Popularity Guide, the book Maya Van Wagenen says changed her life, has been re-issued – retro tips, vintage doodles and all – by Dutton as a companion to Van Wagenen's Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek. Cornell and Van Wagenen even write the forewords to one another's books.

So how did a 15-year-old debut author and an 87-year-old grandmother of nine become friends?

Using Census records, Maya's father tracked down Betty's daughter on Facebook. Maya contacted her and eventually traveled to Pennsylvania to meet Betty in person.

"It was so neat to see Betty in her element. We visited her at her retirement home, and she knew everybody by name and was just so kind and open and accepting. Having a conversation with her was like reading a passage in the book, because she really lives it," Maya says.

The feeling is mutual.

"I began my career as a model and then found great success as an author. Maya is starting her career as an author, but she is already a model of courage and confidence for her generation and generations to come," Betty writes in her foreword.